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5 Reasons to not work at a Startup

1. Getting two to five times more accomplished and building my experience and therefore my resume much faster is not my kind of thing.

2. Working with the top 20% in my field and learning from some of the brightest individuals in my industry means I won’t be the big fish in the little pond.

3. I’m much more interested in collecting a paycheck than looking forward to getting up in the morning and building something useful with a group of other people that share my enthusiasm for what we are doing.

4. I rely on the stability of my established employer even though I know that job security doesn’t come from my company. I prefer to rely on a faceless, impersonal corporation whose sole concern is self preservation, rather than on my skills and experience which provide my real job security.

5. That sounds like a really good opportunity for me but I hadn’t planned on making a move now.

5 Responses to “5 Reasons to not work at a Startup”

#2 is true in many cases but it can be short-sighted. Speaking from personal experience, if you believe in the startup and do impress the “big fish” there, it can pay different kinds of dividends later.

This should be titled ‘5 Reasons to not work at a Good and Well Run Startup”. A bunch of bright individuals in one place does not make a good startup. Poor leadership, lack of direction (or too many directions) and immature management are awful to work for in a startup. A pure deathmarch.

Understood that if the startup is as bad as you describe, you shouldn’t work there. But if a big company is the same, then it is still better to work at a startup where you will learn so much more on your deathmarch. 😉